SocietyEnvironment MEPs put forward a number of possible measures to cut the EU 88 million tonnes per year food waste by half by 2030 on Tuesday. MEPs called on the European Commission to lift existing restrictions on food donations and stressed a solution is needed for the confusion created for many consumers by the “best before” and “use by” labelling. Maxima Latvija, a subsidiary of the retail group Maxima Grupe, and Tineo, the owner of the Riga shopping center that housed the collapsed Maxima store, are suing Ergo Insurance over its refusal to pay a claim worth 5.34 mln euros, but the insurer says that the event was not covered under the insurance policy. Social media not only serves as a source of news for nearly half of Europeans, but it also has made spreading fake news easier and faster. Six out of ten news items are shared without actually being read. MEPS raised concerns about the spread of disinformation, political propaganda and hate speech in plenary on 5 April. However, they disagreed on the best way to respond to the problem. Watch our video above for an overview of the debate. The German Photographic Association has said that this year's Erich Salomon Award to Lithuanian photographic artist Antanas Sutkus. Lithuania has joined Poland's appeal against the European Commission's decision to give Russia's Gazprom more capacity on a branch of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in Germany, with the government saying that Brussels' move may increase Europe's dependence on Russian gas and harm Ukraine. The European Commission and most EU countries failed to prevent car manufacturers from cheating emissions test, according to the final report by Parliament's inquiry committee investigating the car emissions scandal. It was set up in December 2015, a few months after Volkswagen admitted to falsifying test results in their diesel cars. In the report adopted on 4 April, MEPs propose a set of measures to prevent dishonest practices by car manufacturers in the future. Heating prices in Vilnius should grow by 8.2% from June, the National Commission for Energy Control and Prices decided on Thursday. However, after the ruling coalition decided to cancel the value-added tax privilege (9%), the heating prices in Lithuania's capital city should climb much higher. Ater several months of postponements, the Council of Vilnius has given its final approval for the acquisition of 150 new buses, which are estimated to cost the city over 40 mln euros. Lithuania's State Tax Inspectorate has launched a thorough scrutiny of companies and shareholders of Vilniaus Prekyba (Vilnius Trade) group and MG Baltic concern. The decision was taken in light of a proposal from the inspectorate's task force, which had analyzed earlier checks of the operations of both groups, to apply the strictest form of control – integrated tax inspections. The fact that diesel cars’ nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are much higher in real driving conditions than in laboratory tests was known to the EU member states and Commission over a decade ago. They should now act swiftly to improve tests and checks on new cars on EU roads, say MEPs in recommendations voted on Tuesday. In a separate vote, MEPs also amended EU “type approval” rules to make environmental and safety testing more independent, with stricter oversight of cars already on the road. |
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